Bandits defeat Mammoth 12-9; improve to 8-2

Dave Buchanan

The Buffalo Bandits defeated the Colorado Mammoth 12-9 on Saturday night at the First Niagara Center for their sixth-straight win at home.

Mark Steenhuis continued his recent hot streak as he led Buffalo with a hat trick and three assists. Steenhuis now has 10 goals in his last three games and once again the goals game in clutch moments. He sealed the win with a pair of fourth quarter goals that eneded the Mammoth's hopes of a comeback. Last week Steenhuis scored three goals in the second half of the Bandits' win over Minnesota.

Orchard Park-native Joe Resetarits continued to impress in his first season as a Bandit with a six-point performance (2 G, 4 A). John Tavares and Ryan Benesch both scored two goals in the win.

Anthony Cosmo continued to be the backbone of the Bandits success with 45 saves on 54 shots. Cosmo made several huge saves that had 15,455 fans at the First Niagara Center chanting, "Cosmo, Cosmo".

The Bandits came out strong with five-straight goals to begin the game. At the other end of the floor Cosmo and the Buffalo defense held Colorado off the scoreboard until the 9:40 mark of the second quarter.

The Mammoth took advantage of a five-minute boarding call on Dhane Smith to get back into the game in the third quarter. John Grant, Jr. scored twice on the extended power play to tie the game 7-7.

Buffalo's high-powered offense regained control of the game in the fourth game as Benesch, Steenhuis and Shawn Williams all scored in the final quarter to earn the win.

The Bandits improved to 8-2 on the season and maintained their half-game lead over Rochester in the NLL East standings. The Knighthawks kept pace with the Bandits as they railled from a 9-5 halftime defecit against Toronto to beat the Rock 17-12.

Buffalo will now have to become road warriors as they play six of their final eight games away from First Niagara Center. They play two on the road next weekend starting with a meeting with the 10-0 Edmonton Rush on Friday night. Edmonton set an NLL record for the best start to a season with their ten-straight wins to open the schedule. Faceoff is at 9:30 PM. Sunday afternoon the Bandits head to Minnesota for a 2:00 PM matinee with the Swarm.